Most of what you say may be true, with one exception: "Tiny
minority": [1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias is
precisely the problem. Why is there a stereotype of "White girls
in their 20s who talk about the Universe providing guidance?"*
Simple: *BECAUSE THERE ARE lots of 'white girls in their 20s who
talk about the Universe providing guidance":* The stereotype
didn't come from nothing. The trend I've noticed since Sagan's
day has been a strong shift into polarizing within the politics
of Science. There is a lot of the same people patting each other
on the back on how much better they are than the "them". But
'the 'them'" isn't the minority.* Rather than reaching out to
the general public, which INCLUDES 'the them', Science educators
have, in greater and greater amounts, "preach to the already
converted" and they feel their numbers are massive due to
consistency of opinion amongst members. But the Westboro Baptist
Church appears huge and it's just a few people, and THEY'RE
downright delusional.* Yet people who argue against them don't
see the smallness of their number but instead see the bigness of
the impression they leave. Confirmation bias.* None, even Bill
Nye, is immune from it, nor am I.* Maybe you've escaped its
clutches, in which case, please write a book and teach a few
people.
References
Visible links
1.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias
